In Eto's view, the cornered Byakuya had only two choices.
One was to pretend he knew nothing and obediently serve the CCG, which represented the Washuu's interests.
The second was to resist the Washuu.
Since he dared tell her these things, he probably wouldn't obediently serve the Washuu. His usual conduct also showed some hints of this.
Now Byakuya was practically telling her outright that he intended to oppose the Washuu—otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately discussed so many things with her.
Byakuya also tried the coffee. He felt the taste was slightly inferior to Anteiku's—the manager and his staff made better coffee.
But he wouldn't say such things in front of Eto.
However, unexpectedly, it was Eto who brought up the topic. "How does it compare to Anteiku's coffee?"
Byakuya was somewhat surprised. "...Do you want me to be honest?"
He hadn't expected Eto to not avoid this kind of topic.
"Go ahead. Are you being considerate of my feelings?"
Eto asked with a light smile.
"Yes..."
Byakuya replied.
"It's fine. I'm not that petty—at most, I hold grudges."
Eto laughed.
"Then honestly speaking, Anteiku's coffee is better by comparison."
Byakuya said truthfully.
"I see. Too bad I've never tried it."
Eto's tone carried some regret.
Though Eto's words were just casual chatter with Byakuya, there was indeed something to regret.
If, back when Eto went to Anteiku to find her father, she hadn't happened to see the manager laughing and chatting with two staff members—if she had actually stepped through Anteiku's door—she could have tasted Anteiku's coffee, and the father-daughter relationship might have been somewhat mended.
What happened back then wasn't simply about Eto's hatred for her father. More importantly, her last shred of hope for this world had been extinguished, driving her to resolve to change this world at any cost.
Her adoptive father Noroi had already been killed by V while protecting her. Yoshimura was her only living relative in this world, her only hope.
That incident made her completely lose hope in this world—essentially the same as Furuta.
Furuta ruthlessly used Rize as a "sacrifice" to change the world. Eto also ruthlessly used Yoshimura as a "sacrifice" to change the world. The fundamental reason was that they had both despaired of this world.
From the original story's plot development, these two "sacrifices" were indeed necessary.
Without Rize, there would be no "One-Eyed" Kaneki Ken.
Without Yoshimura providing his kakuhou to Takizawa Seidou, it would have been difficult to trigger Kaneki's memory recovery. Takizawa was actually particularly tragic—he became a complete stepping stone for Kaneki. Not only was he tortured for a long time, but unknowingly, he ate a "meat ball" made from his own mother and sister...
And then there was Kanae, who was abused and modified by Eto—all sacrifices for Kaneki to become the "One-Eyed King." They were practically indispensable on Kaneki's path of growth.
"How about I bring you a cup next time we meet?"
Byakuya offered.
"Thank you for the kind offer, Amaha-kun, but that won't be necessary."
Eto declined with a smile.
Her resentment toward that place was still quite deep. If she actually tasted coffee from there, it would only sour her mood.
Afterward, Byakuya and Eto finished most of the couple's set.
Eto talked about "pretending to eat," but when she actually ate those desserts, she did so with obvious delight.
Of course, a skilled ordinary ghoul could also achieve this effect with good enough acting—which was why Eto was so unguarded about it.
"Does Takatsuki-sensei find it delicious?"
Byakuya asked casually.
"You're trying to get me to slip up again. This is 'pretend eating' acting—you understand? Acting~"
Eto said unhurriedly.
Byakuya smiled without comment.
"By the way, when do you plan to visit our Aogiri Tree? I need to make arrangements in advance."
Eto suddenly asked.
"Actually, any time works. Before I'm promoted to First Class, I have quite a bit of free time."
Byakuya said.
Because after being promoted to First Class, not only would he have to mentor a new investigator as his partner, but he'd also be assigned to Squad Zero.
Essentially, he'd be doing two jobs. If the CCG didn't give him a raise at that point, it would be unreasonable.
"What do you mean? Is there something besides mentoring a partner?"
Eto asked casually.
"Yes. I'll be assigned to Squad Zero to work with Arima-san and the others."
Byakuya mentioned this quite casually.
Because he knew perfectly well that Arima was actually Aogiri Tree's true "One-Eyed King," so saying such things didn't matter.
"Oh~ I see..."
Eto found this even more interesting.
If Byakuya truly became a colleague working alongside Arima, their interactions would be much more convenient.
As for Arima's true identity, she would never tell Byakuya—little did she know that Byakuya knew everything about Aogiri Tree inside and out...
"Then let's say next Monday. How does that sound? I'll give you the specific address then."
Eto set the date.
"That works. I'll bring Rize-san along to visit Aogiri Tree—as a gesture of sincerity."
Byakuya said calmly.
Though he knew Rize was one of Aogiri Tree's targets, since he dared bring her along, he naturally had absolute confidence in leaving with her safely.
"That's quite bold of you. You'd be very welcome, of course."
Eto was somewhat surprised.
He should know that Aogiri Tree had been planning to capture Rize, this Washuu escapee, alive.
Especially since he emphasized it as a gesture of sincerity—which showed even more clearly that he knew Rize was one of Aogiri Tree's targets.
"I hope everyone at Aogiri Tree can be somewhat friendly when the time comes."
Byakuya said.
"Of course. I wouldn't want to make things difficult for my fan."
Eto replied immediately.
As for what would actually happen—that would only be known when they got there.
...
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